Homemade Baby Food Puree is easy to make at home and cheaper than store-bought. You can use organic fruit and vegetables and feel great about feeding it to your baby!
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So I realize there’s a good chance not all of you have babies. But I have a baby, lots of my friends and family have young babies, and I’ve had tons of conversations over the last few years about making homemade baby food and easy baby food recipes.
Plus, even if you don’t have a baby yourself, you probably know someone who does. Or someone who will sometime soon. Or who might someday.
So you see, this post is more widely applicable than you first thought!
The bottom line when it comes to making your own baby food is this:
Baby food is easy to make. It’s cheap to make. You have control over the ingredients. You can make it using organic fruits and vegetables if you want to. You can choose to thin it out with breast milk if you want. When it comes to homemade baby food recipes, simple recipes are the way to go.
It will take no more than an hour or two of your time and you will have a ton of your very own homemade baby food purees filling up your freezer, ready to feed your sweet babe at a moment’s notice.
It’s 100% worth the minimal effort, in my opinion, and anyone, even the most inexperienced cook, can do it. You definitely do NOT need some type of special baby food maker.
Don’t be scared! For this example I made apple sauce, sweet potato puree and carrots, but there are so many other options once your baby is ready for solid foods! Butternut squash is great and we did a huge one that my dad grew last year. Pear is fantastic too and if they’re soft you probably won’t even have to cook it – I just pureed. Peas, green beans, poached chicken. So many options!
Don’t be scared to try new flavors. It’s never too early to try to turn your baby into a foodie! 🙂
Save Money on Groceries with these tips:
FAQ About How to Make Baby Food
What foods can you puree for babies?
For this example I made apples, sweet potato (one of the best foods for vitamin C content that are suitable for young babies) and carrots, but there are so many other options!
We’ve also made:
- Winter Squash
- Peas
- Green beans
Proteins:
- Chicken (poached, organic, boneless skinless thighs)
- Fish – haddock, salmon (wild caught and fresh)
- Chickpeas
Fresh fruit (pureed only – not cooked):
- Blueberries
- Pear
- Mango
- Peach
I’ve also really enjoyed these, because they can be mashed into a smooth puree with just a fork and a few minutes!
- Ripe Banana
- Avocado
As baby gets older and eats more (and has had exposure to the various new foods), I like to expermient with different baby food combinations to make a little meal. For example, chicken, sweet potato and carrots, or fish, squash and green beans, sometimes adding a little breast milk too.
I also like to mix fruit purees with baby cereal and a little sprinkle of spice (like oatmeal cereal, apple puree and cinnamon – sometimes with plain yogurt added). The fruit purees add a sublty sweet taste that young babies love.
I always followed the recommendations from Health Canada really closely. This article from Baby Centre Canada outlines many of Health Canada’s general guidelines for introducing solids. Be sure you follow your local government’s recommendations on introducing baby foods safely especially the first time, using small amounts based on their months of age and precautions against food allergies.
These resources will also steer you in the right direction once you have older babies who are ready for finger foods and to potentially eat what the whole family is eating.
What’s the best homemade baby food storage?
There are a million gadgets and baby food storage systems out there and I have honestly found that freezing homemade purees in ice cube trays, popping out the cubes of frozen puree and throwing them in a freezer-safe bag is a great way to process baby’s food and is easy.
Once in a while I’m smart enough not to overcomplicate things, haha.
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Homemade Baby Food Puree – Easy & Healthy Recipes – Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Homemade Baby Food Puree – Ingredients
On this particular day I made sweet potato, carrot and apple homemade baby food recipes.
Scrub and peel whatever fruit and veggies you’re using, chop them up and put them in a pot with just enough water to cover them. If you’re making a lot you’ll need a large pot. Cover with the lid and bring to a boil. A great alternative that I’ve also used is a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. In fact, some would argue that steaming retains more of the nutrients.
*You can also use a steamer basket if you’d rather do that and I will update the post soon to add steaming instructions.
Then lower heat and simmer until fruit and vegetables are soft enough to be pierced with a fork.
Drain over a bowl to save the cooking liquid. Set aside liquid in case it’s needed later.
Dump each fruit or vegetable into a food processor one type at a time. (We have this one and while it’s expensive, it’s been going strong for almost 10 years and I love it!) You could also use an immersion blender.
Cover the top with a cloth instead of the lid (or follow your manufacturer’s instructions for pureeing hot things). Start to puree.
If mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking liquid from that food to thin it. Use remaining liquid for soup, or discard.
I like to use ice cube trays for individually freezing my homemade baby food purees. These ones look super nice and I love that they have lids!
I find the amount is good for babies just starting out and I can mix and match food combinations as baby gets bigger. Fill the trays and freeze.
After they’re frozen you can pop all the cubes out and freeze them in individual freezer bags. Ready for your little one to enjoy anytime! 🙂
Homemade Baby Food Puree - Easy & Healthy Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 bag organic carrots
- 1 bag organic sweet potatoes
- 1 bag organic apples or whatever fruit or vegetables you'd like to use
Instructions
- Scrub and peel whatever fruit and veggies you're using, chop them up and put them in a pot with just enough water to cover them. Cover with the lid and bring to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer until fruit and vegetables are soft enough to be pierced with a fork.
- Drain over a bowl to save the cooking liquid. Set aside liquid in case it's needed later.
- Dump each fruit or vegetable into a food processor one type at a time. Cover the top with a cloth instead of the lid (or follow your manufacturer's instructions for pureeing hot things). Start to puree. If mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking liquid from that food to thin it. Use remaining liquid for soup, or discard.
- I like to use ice cube trays for individually freezing my homemade baby food purees. I find the amount is good for babies just starting out and I can mix and match food combinations as baby gets bigger. Fill the trays and freeze.
- After they're frozen you can pop all the cubes out and freeze them in individual bags. Ready for your little one to enjoy anytime! 🙂
Nutrition
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Nichole says
If you don’t want to freeze your food which brand of storage containers for infants would be good to use?
Myra says
Hi Nichole! If you mean to store the food in the fridge, I always use glass containers for storing food. I like these https://amzn.to/3pRDw4Y (affiliate link) but all the big brands have their own version, and I’m sure they’d all work just fine.
I’m not sure that this is the best strategy for you unless you are feeding a lot of kids at once (like at a daycare or something similar) because I would only store the food in the fridge for a couple of days before assuming it might not be safe for babies anymore (this is much more conservative than the amount of time I would allow for, say, adults). Freezing gives you much more time to use it up.
I hope this helps but if this doesn’t answer your question please let me know and just explain a little more about what you’re wondering and I’d be happy to help!
Lori says
I am looking for a way to warm these cubes healthily, not microwaved. Is there any device to use for warming over water on stove?
Myra says
Hi Lori! I think you could just place a heat-proof bowl over a pot with some water in it as a makeshift double-boiler. If you over it with a lid it shouldn’t take too long to warm up – just make sure it’s not too hot for baby 🙂
Brandy Deeming says
Hi, how long do these stay good in the freezer for?
Myra says
Hi Brandy! I’d say 3-6 months. Hope you try them! 🙂
Robin Jackson says
Hello, thank you for the recipe, very easy to follow. I have a question regarding preparation the food for the baby to eat, should it simply be left out to thaw and served at room temperature, warmed on a stove, etc. I’ll be making for my 3 grandsons that were born this year.
Myra says
Hi Robin! Thanks for the comment! If I was planning ahead I would usually thaw it in the fridge or on the counter (if they were going to eat it within an hour). If I was short on time I would defrost it in the microwave (stove should work too, of course). I would try to serve it slightly warm, but if you’re using the microwave, make sure there are no hot spots. I also often mixed it with baby cereal and served warm. My babies always really loved oatmeal baby cereal mixed with pureed apple and a dash of cinnamon 🙂 I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions please let me know!